Mockingbird
by Warrior princess922
Summary: She was gone. Dead. But certainly not forgotten. And there was one, extremely important thing that would never let Dom or Mia forget her ... even if they wanted to. Dom&Letty, Mia&Letty/ one shot.


**Title:** "Mockingbird"

**Summary: **She was gone. Dead. But certainly not forgotten. And there was one, extremely important thing that would never let Dom or Mia forget her ... even if they wanted to. || Dom&Letty, Mia&Letty/ one shot.

**Beta: **degrassijayandalex

**Rating:** R

**Feedback: **Much appreciated.

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Fast&Furious.

**

* * *

A/N: **This story is kind of ... depressing. And since I wouldn't want to make anyone feel depressed, I'm giving you a fair warning here. Hope you enjoy!

* * *

It was late. It was one of the ordinary, warm evenings in LA. when everything seemed calm and quiet.

It was just another ordinary day for everyone ... except Mia Toretto.

For Mia Toretto ... nothing was ordinary._ Nothing_ was the same. _Nothing _was calm or quiet. Everything was a mess ... an utter, a complete mess.

Letty ... her best friend... a girl she knew all her life ... was gone. Just like that. Bam. And she's dead. One minute she's eating breakfast with her and the next she's gone. Never to be seen again.

Mia remembered the day when they first met. She remembered it as if it had happened yesterday and not ages ago. At first, it seemed like there was no way Mia Toretto, the girly good girl, and Leticia Ortiz, the rebel and tomboy, were ever going to become friends with one another.

You know what they say... that only people who have a lot in common with each other might make friends or become lovers because when there's too many differences and discrepancies, a negative tension creates which leads to arguments. Which then leads to breaking up, leaving, hating... and all that makes it simply impossible to find a way to be friends ever again.

Well... that's just something_ they say_. Because Mia and Letty had just _one _thing in common and they were **great **friends. What was that thing? Loving the same man.

Although, they loved him in different way. Mia loved him like any girl would love her brother. Letty loved him like any girl would love her boyfriend kind of way.

That was about the only thing the two girls had in common. Even though Mia grew up around cars and even though she was taught how to drive and race and she was pretty damn good at it, she never actually liked that all that much. It was just something, you might say, that she had in her blood. Something she had in her genes.

Letty, on the other hand, loved cars, loved being around cars, loved anything and everything that had something to do with cars. She loved racing, loved the adrenaline rush it gave her. And she was as good at it as "The King of Streets, big Dominic Toretto" was, and maybe even better.

Letty didn't care about her look, Mia did.

Mia had good grades and Letty didn't give two shits about them.

Mia had a big future planned for herself, and Letty ... Letty already had everything she wanted. She had a job, a family and the love of her life. There was no point in getting good grades, studying and shit like that, because that would never give her the life she wanted to have.

Mia could have any and every guy she wanted and Letty could, too, which was something she never realized, but she didn't want to. She's gotten the only guy she'd ever wanted and she was happy with him.

Life was good for them ... maybe not all along but finally, eventually it became something really good and they were both happy with what they had.

Unfortunately ... it didn't last forever. It burst like a bubble, and everything came crashing down. The dream was over, there was time to wake up.

Face the reality ... stop living in dreams ... that were things Mia had to learn now.

Letty was taken away so suddenly and so brutally that it almost seemed unbelievable. She vanished like a short, weak memory. It was like nobody named Leticia Ortiz ever existed and it made Mia more than furious.

How could people just keep living their lives ... how? Letty was dead. She was murdered. She was taken away from them so brutally. The world's not the same, somebody's life was taken away. Why do people ignore that? How can they walk the streets with those smiles on their faces? Walking around like everything in the world is great. When it's not.

Mia couldn't understand that. Her life crashed a long time ago... when Brian walked away without a farewell... when Dom, Leon, Vince and Letty left ... _when Jesse died..._

She was all alone. She's been on her own for the past 5 years. Dom would call every now again to check up on her, but would never allow her to call him back...Letty would also make calls every once and a while...

_Leon and Vince vanished suddenly..._

Her life was nothing but a joke. Why did she even bother to study so hard, to fight so hard to go to that fucking college? It all didn't matter now. What was the point? Nothing mattered much anymore.

How could she move on? _Again?_ **Yet again...**

When her father died, it was traumatic and hard and hurt like hell but she finally learned to move on.

When Jesse died, it was horrible, heart-breaking and hurt even more but she moved on from that, too.

And now Letty died and... Mia couldn't find proper words that would describe the way she felt right now. She _wasn't able_ to move on. Letty was her best friend. Letty was like her sister she always wanted to have.

It was** Letty **who helped her move on after her father's death. It was** Letty** who would always come console her when something was wrong. How are you supposed to move on when so many tragic things happened in your life? There's just this time when you're... _done _and you can't possible take anymore. Done trying to get yourself together, to pick up all the pieces.

And Mia **was** done.

It was late. It was one of the ordinary, warm evenings in LA. when everything seemed calm and quiet. And people were doing whatever shit they had to, not aware that at the same time, someone was suffering because of a loss of a very close friend they loved to pieces. Isn't it ridiculous? That way the worlds works? How can somebody just sit at home, watching a comedy, guzzling and simply being happy while at the same time, somebody's traumatized, somebody's suffering, somebody's **dying**... Mia couldn't understand that. Then again... _who could?_

"Dammit," Mia growled under her breath silently as she walked out of the house, carrying a big box and noticed a few cars, standing not far away. They were watching her all the time now. Idiots... they really thought Dom would come back here? He knows very well what would happen if he appeared back in LA... he was too smart for that. For them.

Mia came into the garage and walked over to a table, putting the box she was holding down on it. And then she heard footsteps behind her. For a second she thought that she'd misheard but just to be sure, she looked over her shoulder and felt heart in her throat.

_**Dom. **_

Dom came out of the shadows and her heart almost broke when she noticed the look on his face. If she felt so depressed about Letty's death, then she really had no idea how Dom was feeling about it.

Mia gasped in disbelief and ran into his arms, sobbing quietly into her older brother's shoulder, as he comfort her. After a few long moments, they finally pulled apart, though they weren't quite ready to let go of each other just yet.

"Dom..." Mia whispered, tears filling her eyes "What are you doing here? I told you** not **to come ... they're staking the place out. _What if they find you_-"

"They _won't_," Dom assured her in that deep, firm voice of his. Mia stared up at him and looked deep into his eyes, searching for all the emotions she was expected to see. But there wasn't any. His eyes were empty.

"I'm **so** sorry, Dom." she cried quietly, shaking her head but he just rose one of his big hands to her cheek and cupped it, sending her the smallest smile he could force himself to. After all... he was happy to see his baby sister again.

"Are you alright?" he asked "I mean, aside from ... " he added quickly, not wanting her to misunderstand him.

"I, uh..." Mia began, her voice shaking a little and then she just half-shrugged, half-nodded.

_Of course_ she wasn't alright. And he knew that. But he just **had to** ask. It was like an unwritten rule.

"I need to see her, Mia." Dom growled suddenly, gazing down at the brunette standing in front of him. "_Where is she?_"

_

* * *

"Mia, get out of the car."_

_"OK," she whispered softly, tears still glistening in her eyes. She looked over at Letty, who was practically lying in the backseat right beside her. She grabbed her hand and squeezed it gently. "Hang in there, Let."_

_"No worries, girl, I'm gonna be fine." the Latina assured her being confident as always, and smirking a little as if to prove her point. Mia answered her with a small smile of her own and then got out of the car. _

_"So what are we gonna do now?" Leon asked, not being able to face anybody and just sitting straight in the front seat, his hands squeezing the wheel as he was gaping at the street before him. _

_"You and Letty keep going. You need to get to Mexico." Dom answered him, his eyes not leaving Letty in the rear-view mirror._

_"What about you?" she questioned him in a husky voice, pulling herself up to a sitting position._

_"I'm staying. I need to find Jesse."_

_"Then I'm staying, too." _

_"No."_

_"What do you mean "**no**"?" Letty spat out violently, and he let out a heavy sigh and looked at her over his shoulder._

_"We don't have much time. Spilner... " he paused "**O'Conner **can be here at any second. And you're hurt. You gotta see a doctor right away."_

_"I'm fine." She said trying to reassure him._

_"Let, babe, look at yourself." Dom told her softly "Please, don't make it any harder then it already is. Don't fight me on this."_

_She was looking at him for what seemed like hours and then shook her head and turned her face to the window. She was mad. She was** so **mad at him. Not just mad, but furious. For not listening to her, for not** trusting **her. All that mess they were in now.. was** his** fault. She **told** him not to do it. She** told** him something didn't feel right. But he went ahead and did it anyway. **He** got them in this mess. _

_He was right about one thing, though. She was hurt. And she was in pain. And she definitely needed to see a doctor now. She couldn't stay, it was too much of a risk._

_"I'ma find Jess and follow you, okay?" Dom said, glancing at Leon who nodded, still not bothering to even turn his head, though. "Alright," he growled to himself and then got out of the car, not giving Letty a second look. She just sat there and felt as if he punched her chest. **He didn't even bother to say goodbye...**_

_The back door opened suddenly and Dom slid in._

_"Come here, Let." he asked her, bent over, waiting for her to come closer. She glanced over at him, tears hitting the back of her eyes. And then she almost threw herself at him, pulling him into a tight embrace, ignoring the fact that every muscle in her body screamed in protest._

_She didn't want him to leave her. She didn't want him to stay behind. She was so scared that something might happen to him... what if they catch him? ... what if she never gets to see him again?_

_"I love you, Letty." Dom told her and she knew he meant it, she **knew** it was honest. She regretted that they hadn't been telling those three little words to each other more often before._

_"I love you, too." she whispered back to him, her mouth pressed against the side of his neck and he almost shivered as he felt her hot breath on his skin. _

_They stayed like that, in each others arms for a few seconds and then broke apart. Dom held his weight up on his hands that were placed on either side of Letty's body and then leaned over to catch her lips in a soft, yet passionate kiss. She whimpered quietly into his mouth and reached out to wrap one arm around him, her hand laying flat on his shoulder as they were saying their final goodbyes. Finally, Dom slowly pulled away despite Letty's trying to keep him as close to her as possible._

_"Take care of yourself, baby, I'll see you soon." he said, kissing a bruise that was beginning to form on her forehead. "Watch her, Leon." was the last thing he said and then he was gone._

_Few hours later, Letty woke up because of a huge pain that hit her suddenly like a snowball. She hissed, grimacing and shifted uncomfortably in the backseat._

_"What's wrong, girl?" Leon asked, observing her in the rear-view mirror like Dom before. _

_"Nothin'." she gasped. "Keep driving."_

_"You want me to pull over?"_

_"No." Letty told him sternly, "**Keep driving**." She said once again._

_Leon was watching her for a few seconds and the obviously decided to let it go because he didn't say anything more and just returned to paying attention on the road. Letty closed her eyes and sucked in a breath, biting her bottom lip hard to keep herself from yelling out in pain. But it was overwhelming and soon she was grabbing her sides and rocking herself back and forth, panting, as it became too much for her to handle._

_"Letty! I'm gonna stop." Leon decided, looking really scared._

_"NO!" she screamed, happy that she could've done it without making it look like it was because of the pain "Just keep driving, goddammit, I'ma be **fine**!"_

_"You look like you're about to pass out! I'm pullin' over-"_

_"Leon! Keep-" she couldn't finish what she meant to say, though, because a loud cry of pain came out of her mouth and she bent over, slapping her hand against the window and digging her fingernails into it._

_"Fuck!" Leon cursed "Letty, stay conscious! I'm pulling over."_

_"Don't stop!" she gasped "Don't- ... Leon, just keep... keep dr-" her hand slid down the window and her body went limp as she blacked out._

* * *

Dom entered the dark room quietly, not intending to turn on the light. Thanks to the small source of light coming from the hall, though, he could see her lying the bed, sleeping peacefully, as if nothing could wake her.

He smiled a little at her sight. Those dark curls falling naturally on her face ... the tiny figure ... _she was so beautiful_.

A pleasant warmth washed him over and he immediately felt one hundred times better. He wanted to come over and pull her into his arms but he didn't want to wake her. So instead, he just sat down on the edge of the bed, watching her sleep. Her chest was slowly rising up and down as she was breathing and he would smile just a little wider every time she would let out that familiar sigh. After a few minutes, he couldn't stop himself and reached out to tuck one lose strand of her dark hair behind her ear. She shifted a little and sighed again, then opened her eyes.

"Hey..." Dom whispered to her softly "_Hey there, Bonnie_."

_

* * *

"Doc! Hey, doctor!" Leon called as he ran up to a tall man, walking out of the operating room._

_"Yes?" _

_"Is the operation over? How is she? Is everything alright?" _

_"They'll be wheeling her out in just a few minutes, sir. And yes, she seems fine. You just wait over here, please." The doctor instructed him and the walked away. Leon sighed in relief, bending over and placing his hands on his thighs. He was scared shitless when he brought her here, half-conscious and they immediately took her away for the operation. And that never means anything good. For a few horrible seconds, he was scared that she was actually gonna die. He would never forgive himself if she did... **Dom** would never forgive him..._

_As the doctor promised, five minutes later Letty was wheeled out and taken down the corridor to another room in the end of it. Leon was by her side all the time, wanting to make sure that she won't wake up to find herself completely alone in a white room. She'd probably think she died._

_The doctor said that it was going to take an hour or two for her to wake up and he promised to come to inform them about how the operation went once she's conscious. Leon sat down in a chair that stood just beside the bed Letty was laying on and waited... because that was all he could really do at this time. Wait._

_He knew they should have been in Mexico long time ago... but he also knew that Letty's health was more important than that. Hell, she could've died in the backseat of his car if he didn't go to the hospital._

_"Leon..." her weak whisper woke him up and he opened his eyes, glancing at her from his spot in the chair._

_"Hey!" he breathed, moving the chair closer to the bed "Hey... how are ya, girl?"_

_She narrowed her eyes and looked around, not recognizing the place, not knowing what was going on._

_"Where—"_

_"You're in a hospital, Let." He answered her before she could finish her sentence. _

_A look of understanding appeared on her face, as she probably understood why she was in some white room, why she's been put on a drip and why she was all bandaged up. _

_"You've been operated. It's a good thing I brought you here. You were seriously injured."_

_"You shouldn't have stopped, Leon." she said, shifting slightly and grimacing when even that caused her pain._

_"What was I supposed to do? Just let you die?" he asked, getting angry. Before she could answer him, though, the doctor came in._

_"Good, you're awake. Hello, Ms Stevens, my name's doctor Parker and I'm here to tell you everything you have to know and ask you some questions."_

_Letty glanced at Leon, silently thanking him for at least being smart enough to not tell them her real last name._

_"What questions?"_

_"Well, first off all, I'd like to know what caused you such damage, ma'am. What happened?"_

_"I was in a car accident." Letty replied without hesitation. Well, it was truth, after all. _

_"I see," the doc nodded, writing something down "Are you on any medications?"_

_"Nope if you don't count contraception pills." she somewhat chuckled, making Leon shake his head with a smirk._

_"No, those do not count." the man said slowly, slightly amused, "Besides, seems like those failed a bit, huh?" he added, glancing at Leon whose smirk automatically faded. What was he talking about? "Okay so the operation ran smooth, there was fortunately no complications. Ms Stevens, you had an internal bleeding that we managed to stop really fast, lucky for you because those might get really dangerous. You've got broken ribs and lots of minor cuts and bruises but other than that, you should be fine in a few weeks. I'm going to write you a prescription for some painkillers."_

_"So can she leave the hospital today?" Leon asked hopefully._

_"No, of course not, sir. She's just been operated. Yes, it wasn't a very serious operation as it **could **have been if you hadn't brought her just in time," Leon threw Letty a "I told you so" look "but that doesn't change the fact she needs to stay here to at least tomorrow."_

_"Tomorrow?" Letty repeated, a bit horrified. Dom will **not **be happy._

_"At least." the doctor repeated "But well, you were lucky, Ms Stevens, this could've ended much worse. Oh and yes, your baby's alright. Fortunately, you didn't do any damage to your stomach or abdomen."_

_Everything stopped. Leon looked up from the floor to gaze directly at the man, Letty stiffened in the bed, her eyes widened and on the doctor._

_"Excuse me?"_

_The doctor stopped writing whatever it was he was writing and glanced up, seeing both of them gap at him in shock._

_"Your baby, ma'am... You..." he glanced at Leon and then back at Letty "You didn't know?"_

_Leon turned his gaze on the Latina whose stomach dropped._

_"Don't know... exactly what?" she demanded, though Leon was sure **she knew exactly what he meant.**_

_"You're pregnant." Doctor Parker announced, smiling lightly at her and then at Leon "Congratulations."_

_There was a long, uncomfortable silence in which Leon was gaping at Letty who was staring at the doctor whose eyes were jumping from her to Leon._

_After a very long moment of silence... Letty swallowed hard and managed to choke out:_

_"I'm sorry, __**what**__?"_

* * *

She rose one of her hands to rub her brown eyes, looking at him with sleepy look on her pretty face.

"Hey, baby..." Dom whispered softly, rubbing her cheek softly with his knuckles "You remember me?"

The girl was looking at him long and hard and Dom's smile faded a little as he realized she probably** didn't**...

"Daddy?" she asked in a sweet voice, making his eyes widen a little and his smile returned twice as wide as before.

"Yeah," he chuckled, incredibly happy that his daughter hadn't forgotten what he looks like "Yes, it's me, baby."

"Mommy promised me you would come back." She said in a happy voice. "Where's mommy?"

His smile faded completely. He felt his heart in his throat as he was reminded once again of the reason he came back here at all.

_Where's mommy?_

What was he supposed to say? **How** was he supposed to tell her that? She wouldn't understand. _How _could he explain this to her?

_Your mommy's gone, Bonnie._

He looked away, shutting his eyes close, choking back his tears. His little girl couldn't see him cry...

_Mommy's gone, sweetie..._

_

* * *

"Cops just raided our garage in Baracoa."_

_Dom looked away, his stomach dropping._

_"They were real interested in you." Han continued "Heat's on and we just sent up a flare that's gonna lead them right to us."_

_Fear squeezed Dom's throat. _

_"I say we move out first thing in the morning."_

_He stared down at the sand, thinking hard about the next move he should take. And it just took him a few seconds and then... he knew what he had to do._

_"Nah, it's __**me**__ they want." Dominic announced "And if they catch me," he glanced at Han " They're throwing big numbers at **anybody** with me."_

_Han stared at him with understanding on his look. He knew what Dom was about to say._

_"Han, we had a good run." Dom said, nodding at the other man "Time for you to go do your own thing." He added, smiling slightly._

_Han has been expecting this so his words weren't any surprise for him. And moreover, he knew it was a right thing to do._

_"Heard they're doing some crazy shit in Tokyo." _

_Dom smiled at this, nodding to himself. _

_So this was it. That was the end of their trip. Of their adventure. Now it was time to separate. _

_He knew that nobody was safe around him. The cops will never give up, never stop looking for him. He had no other choice. He had to go away. He couldn't put anybody at risk._

_"You seen Letty?" Dom asked, glancing over at Han again who stared straight ahead and nodded his head in the direction. Dom turned around, happily noticing Letty sitting on the beach ... with a little girl sitting in her lap. She was very small with dark eyes, dark curls, tan skin, dressed in a beautiful, white dress._

_"You like the waves, hunny?" _

_The girl nodded with enthusiasm, pointing her little finger at the sea. Letty smiled down at her and planted a soft kiss in the mass of her hair. _

_"Daddy!" Bonnie jumped up suddenly and Letty picked her up and set her down on the ground so that she could run over to Dom who bent down a little, opening his arms._

_"Hey, Chica!" Dom breathed, placing his big hands on her tiny waist and throwing her up in the air, making her chuckle "How's my hermosa hija?"_

_A soft smile appeared on Letty's face, as she was watching Bonnie wrap her little arms around Dom's neck._

_"You're not hungry? Did mommy give you something to eat yet?"_

_"Mommy gave me ice-cream!"_

_"Ice-cream!" Dom repeated, ruffling her hair "Well isn't your mommy __**great**__?"_

_Letty shook her head at this with a smirk. Dom put Bonnie down and kneeled, still holding her waist._

_"You see uncle Han over there?" he asked her, pointing at Han who noticed that and waved to Bonnie with a smile "Go play with Han. Go, baby."_

_She nodded and ran away. Dom watched her go and then turned back to Letty._

_"Are you trying to get me to like you tonight, Toretto?" she teased him, referring to what he said about her being a great mom. Dom laughed under his breath and sat down beside her, wrapping his arm around her waist._

_"I didn't know I had to." he responded and she chuckled._

_"So how'd it go?" Letty asked after a few moments of silence. "Good?"_

_"Well..." Dom breathed and then waved his hand at the partying and laughing people behind them "I guess you could say that."_

_She smirked and nodded, laying her head back against his chest._

_"So I guess you didn't need me at all, then."_

_"Oh no, Leticia, I __**did **__need you very much, we would've done it much faster if you'd gone with us. Tego almost wet his pants when the driver began to shoot, he almost fell off the roof** three **times. It's a **miracle** he didn't kill himself." Dom said, half-seriously.  
_

_Letty laughed at this and he joined her and they just sat there in a comfortable silence, feeling good in each others arms and just wanting to stay like that forever..._

_... Dom had different plans, though._

_"The cops are getting hungrier."_

_He felt Letty tense in his arms the second after the words left his mouth._

_"I don't want you and Bonnie around when they catch up to me." he continued, knowing he had to say it. Letty sighed in frustration and pulled back from him a little to be able to turn and look at him._

_"Ride or die, remember that, Dominic?" she asked, looking deep into his eyes. He looked away._

_"It's different now, Let." he stated "You know that."_

_Yes, she **did **know. Bonnie was what was different. _

_"She's just a little kid. Jumping from one place to another with her like that ... it's just not fair." Dom whispered and she could hear the pain in his voice "She deserves a better life."_

_"She **likes** that life, Dom." Letty told him "She likes being able to get to know so many different places and people."_

_"Yeah, maybe she does but that's because she doesn't know any better." he argued and by the look Letty had on her face after he said that, he knew she realized it was the truth "She doesn't know that other kids have just one home. She doesn't know that other kids don't travel all the time because their parents are criminals, breaking the law and running away from the cops **all the time**. She doesn't know **any** better, Letty."_

_Now Letty was the one that looked away, not being able to handle the fact that ... he was right._

_"But we **do** know better." Dom continued, cupping her cheek with his hand and turning her face so that she had no other choice but to look him directly in his eyes._

_"So what now? You're just gonna leave us? After **everything** we've been through together?"_

_"You gotta be thinkin' about our little girl right now."_

_"I **am** thinkin' about her, Dom. She's** all **I'm thinking about." She assured him "And I know that if you leave, it's going to affect her really bad."_

_"Let-" He breathed, dropping his hand from her cheek._

_"It's **always **like that with you, Dom!" She almost yelled, getting angrier and angrier with every second passing "We've been doing this for so many years by now and it **always** has been dangerous! Now that it got just a little bit **more **dangerous, you choose to run?"_

_"You know I'm just trying to protect you both. You and Bonnie."_

_"Don't make this about Bonnie, Dom." Letty spat, glaring at him "I've known you for too long. Even if we didn't have a daughter, you would have wanted to leave me anyway. Tell me I'm wrong."_

_He remained silent, just keep gaping at her, sorrow and guilt written all over his face. Letty nodded to herself and smiled in disbelief. He couldn't just leave her now. Not after everything they've been through... after so many years of being together. She couldn't imagine her life without him. And Bonnie... this would break her if he left. She might have been not even 5 years old yet but Letty knew she loved Dom with all her heart. More than he thought. The anger vanished and sorrow washed Letty over like a sudden storm. Her eyes softened and watered and as she stared at him once again, her heart stopped beating for a few seconds. She knew that look. He had the same look on his face when she turned him down after he got up the guts to ask her out for the first time. He then told her that he always gets what he wants and that he was going to get **her**, sooner or later. And well... he did get her. That look on his face told her that there was no way he would change his mind. He had already decided. Desperate, Letty grabbed his face in her hands, the tears in her eyes threatening to fall._

_"We'll figure this out!" she almost cried, "We **always** do!"_

_He just kept staring at her, making her want to either hit him or hug him._

_"Dom!" she gasped out, digging her fingertips a little into his cheeks "You can't do this to me now! You can't do this to **her**,"_

_"Let... she needs a** normal **life and she can't have it with me around." _

_"She also needs a father!" Letty argued "She needs a** father**, Dom. She needs you. **We** need you."_

_He looked at her and it seemed impossible for him that he felt so many different emotions at the same time._

_He felt guilty, depressed, scared, sad, desperate... all at the same time. _

_"**Please**..." Letty whispered, one single tear rolling down her cheek. He rose his hand to wipe it away and then brought her lips to his. She kissed him back, grabbing him desperately as if she thought he was just going to vanish right then and there. He placed his hands on the back of her thighs and lifted her up onto his lap, not breaking the kiss. And at that moment... he almost made her believe that he was not going to leave. He almost made her believe she had gotten him to change his mind. She couldn't be more wrong, though. Next day, Letty woke up with her arm wrapped around Bonnie's tiny figure, noticing that Dom was no longer in the bed beside them. She felt her heart in her throat as she pulled herself up a little, holding her weight up on her elbow, her other arm not letting go of her daughter. _

_"Dom?" Letty risked to call, hoping that wouldn't wake Bonnie up. It didn't and it didn't give her any response, as well. Tears welled up in her eyes as she noticed two big piles of money with Dom's silver necklace wrapped around them, laying on the cupboard right beside the bed. There was also a note._

_Shaking a little, Letty reached over Bonnie and took it, noticing Dom's handwriting immediately. She unfolded the small piece of paper and began to read:_

**_I know you're going to hate me now but I had no other choice. And though you'll never admit it, deep down, you know I'm right. _**

**_Now that I'm gone, you have a chance to start over. Start a new life. Move on. You deserve that, Letty. Bonnie deserves that._**

**_I'm sorry for leaving in the middle of the night but I just couldn't wake you up to say goodbye..._**

**_And Let... could you do me just a little favor? Could you please show my picture to Bonnie every now and again? _**

**_And tell her that I love her very much from time to time? I don't want her to forget me. I don't want her to think I don't love her._**

**_Please, don't try to find out where I'd gone to. Don't look for me. It'll be better this way. It's for the best._**

**_Go back to LA, Letty. Go back to Mia. Go home._**

**_Please, forgive me. I'll always love you. Both of you._**

**_ Dom_**

_He really did it. He really left them. What kind of father was he? How could he leave his own child?_

_She wanted to be mad at him. For doing this to her and Bonnie. She wanted to be furious at him. But she couldn't. The fact that he was gone got to her so much that she was barely able to stop herself from bursting out in tears. She knew that if she began to cry, it would wake her daughter up and alarm her that something was wrong. She didn't know how she was going to tell her that daddy was gone and that she probably would never ever see him again... _

_Letty put the note against her chest, closing her eyes, trying to calm down and get her breathing back to normal._

**_Go back to LA, Letty. Go back to Mia. Go home._**

_It was not home for Letty. It was **not **home when Dom wasn't there with them._

* * *

"You missed me, chica?" Dom asked her as he picked her up to give her a bear hug "Because I missed you like crazy, baby."

"I missed you, too, daddy," the girl admitted, burying her face in the crook of his neck "Where were you, daddy?"

"I'm so sorry, Bonnie." Dom whispered, putting his hand on the back of her head and stroking her hair gently "I'm very sorry for leaving you like that. But I had some things I needed to take care of."

"You hurt mommy." she told him softly, making him freeze "She's cryin' all the time. I don't want her to cry." She added, her voice shaking a little as if she was about to start crying herself in any second.

_Now hush little baby, don't you cry._

_Everything's gonna be alright..._

"I'm sorry, baby." Dom repeated once again and sat her back down on the bed "I didn't mean to hurt your mommy, let alone **you**. I love you both** very** much. You know that, right?" he asked, cupping her chin and sending her a small smile. She nodded, smiling back at him.

_I can see you're sad, even when you smile, even when you laugh..._

_I can see it in your eyes, deep inside you want to cry..._

_

* * *

"Alright, baby, time to sleep, now," Letty said, covering her daughter with a duvet and bending down to kiss her forehead. "Aunt Mia promised to take you to the store tomorrow, hunny, remember?"_

_To Letty's surprise, Bonnie didn't smile and didn't react like she always used to. She had a gloomy face and her beautiful, chocolate eyes were glistening in the darkness._

_"What's wrong, baby?" The Latina asked her, concerned "You're not happy? I thought you liked going to the store with Aunt Mia."_

_"I like." Bonnie whispered, hugging a teddybear to her chest and not looking her mom in the eyes._

_"So what's wrong?"_

_The girl was quiet for a few seconds and then she finally turned her head to look at Letty._

_"I miss daddy, mommy. Where is my daddy?"_

_Letty blinked quickly and straightened up, staring down at her daughter with sorrow in her eyes._

_She knew that Bonnie missed Dom. She knew that very well. But she never actually told her that before. She asked about him just once. And then... it was like she forgot he ever existed but Letty knew she didn't._

_It was the first time that she asked her about him since that last morning back in the DR. _

_And just then.. Letty realized just how much Bonnie's been suffering that he was not there with them. She understood that she's been missing him more than she thought. And as she looked down at her, as she noticed that sad face, the tears in her sweet eyes ... Letty knew it was time to finally do something about it._

_"I know, baby." Letty whispered, trying to comfort her by stroking her hair "I miss your dad, too. But he's going to come back soon, OK, hunny?"_

_"Really?" Bonnie asked, her eyes widening a little as a wide, pretty smile appeared on her sad face. Letty smiled, as well and nodded._

_"Yes, really. I **promise**,"_

_And that's how it all started. That's what made her go to Brian O'Conner for help. That's how she began to work for FBI to bring down Braga. That's why she went to win that race, that's why she got involved with Braga's organization. Because she needed Dom to come back. Because Bonnie missed him. Because she made her a promise..._

_"No, Brian."_

_"Letty-" The blonde man pleaded, few weeks later as she was pacing around his room, not wanting to listen to him "It's getting really dangerous now. You **have to** quit."_

_"I **never **quit," Letty announced with a stern look on her face "I can't quit now. **Not now**."_

_"The drivers get killed, Letty!" Brian yelled, losing control after trying to convince her for more than 1 hour "They **all **get** killed**!"_

_"I knew what I was gettin' myself into, O'Conner."_

_"What if something happens to you? What if YOU get killed, too? Who's going to take care of your daughter?"_

_Letty stopped, dead in her tracks. _

_"She **needs** you, Letty."_

_"She needs her** father**!" She shouted, making Brian shiver at her tone "She needs Dom back! Why do you think I'm doing this? For her! All of this is **for her**."_

_"What if you get **killed** out there?" he yelled again._

_"But I promised her!" Letty cried, tears filling her eyes "I** promised** her that he was going to come back soon!"_

_Brian looked at her sympathetically, anger that had curved his face faded._

_"You're gonna have to break that promise, Let."_

_She let out something between a sob and a gasp and covered her mouth with a shaking hand._

_"I already decided for you, Letty. You're out."_

_"No, I'm NOT!" She screamed again "I'm gonna bring that fucker down! I'm gonna bring Dom back! I'm gonna do this for my daughter and** you **won't stop me!"_

_"She already lost her dad, she can't lose **you**, too!" Brian tried to yell some sense into her. Why didn't she understand what could happen? _

_He knew why... because she wasn't doing this only for Bonnie. She was doing it for herself, too. Because she missed Dom. That's why it was so hard for her to quit trying to bring him back home to her._

_But he couldn't let her risk her life like that... he couldn't take Bonnie's mom away from her, like he took away her dad. Because he felt guilty. Yes, Brian O'Conner felt guilty that Bonnie Toretto lost her daddy._

_"Please, Letty..." Brian asked her one more time, coming over to her and placing his hands on her shoulders. "You've done everything you could. It's time to let go now."_

_She shook her head and looked away, tears finally faling from her eyes and marking her cheeks._

_"**Please**, back out while you can. Think about Bonnie, Letty. Think about her."_

_She closed her eyes. He was right. She had to think about her little girl. She couldn't put her life on the edge like that anymore. Not anymore._

_Brian was right. It was over. She was... **done**._

_No matter how much it was hurting her ... she had to quit. She had to **let go**. _

_Too bad that quitting and backing out of Braga's organization wasn't that easy._

**_Few days later, Mia answered her phone to be informed that Letty's car had been wrecked._**

* * *

"Daddy, I wanna play!" Bonnie exclaimed, jumping up and down on her bed. Dom shook his head as he was brutally snapped out of his daze.

"**_Play?_**" he repeated, smiling and trying his best to act normally... as if the love of his life..._ the mother of his kid _hadn't been murdered. "Now it's time for you to lie down and go to sleep, baby. Come here!" He gasped,

grabbing her and plafully throwing her down on the soft duvet. She chuckled happily and then crawled under the duvet and patted its material, uber excited that her dad had come back to her... _Just like her mom had promised her..._

"Daddy, where's mommy?"

It was the second time she asked him that question and it was the second time that he felt a huge pain in his chest as if somebody's just pulled his heart out of it.

"_Where's my mommy?_" Bonnie whined, her eyes watering fast and soon afterwards she was crying out loud, yelling that she wants her mommy.

_Now hush little baby, don't you cry._

_Everything's gonna be alright..._

_Stiffen that upper lip up, little lady, I told ya:_

_Daddy's here to hold ya through the night..._

Dom turned his head to the side and gritted his teeth hard, swallowing back his own tears.

_Stay strong_, he told himself. _Stay strong for your daughter._

What choice did he have? He had to stay strong, he had to pretend everything was okay at least until he figures out how he's supposed to tell her that ... _that she doesn't have a mommy anymore._

"_Shh, momma's only gone for the moment.." _Dom whispered, turning his head to look down at his crying baby and reaching out to stroke her hair.

_I know mommy's not here right now and we don't know why..._

_We feel how we feel inside..._

"She will come home soon?" Bonnie questioned her dad, wiping her eyes, sniffing a little.

"Yeah, chica." Dom assured her, sending her a smile or at least he for sure felt that all the muscles in his face stretched weirdly.

_It may seem a little crazy, pretty baby,_

_But I promise: momma's gon' be alright..._

"I'm happy you here, daddy." The little girl cofessed, smiling up at Dom sweetly, making him look away again, as he was not longer able to take that happy, unaware look on her pretty face.

Letty was gone. She was .. dead. She was never coming back.

And it was HIS fault. It was all his fault. He never should have left them behind. None of this would've happened if he had listened to Letty and stayed.

She was right about him. When it gets dangerous, he runs. But not because he's scared about his own ass... but because he's trying to do what, in his opinion, is necessary for all the people he loves to stay safe.

He never did anything to save his own skin. Family and friends always came first. Nothing was more important to him.

And now there he was ... losing everything and everyone slowly, one by one... his father ... Jesse ... Leon ... Vince ... _Letty _…

An uncontrolled sob came out of his mouth and Bonnie frowned, the way Letty always used to, and that only made Dom feel even worse and more scared that soon he won't be able to control himself any longer and he'll just burst into tears. He gritted his teeth again, even harder.

_- Letty... she just lived down the street._

_Always into cars, though. Ever since she was, like, 10 years old._

_So, naturally, you know, my brother always had her attention..._

**The pain ...**

_- And then she turned 16... And then she had Dom's attention._

_It's funny how that works, isn't it?_

**The memories ...**

_- Listen, the other night I had a dream..._

_... that you and I were on the beach in Mexico._

**The promises ...**

_- Really?_

_**- Really.**_

**The lies ...**

_- It's gonna be okay, Letty._

_**The truth ...**_

_- I love you._

The tears that he was trying to hold so much finally found a way to escape from his eyes to roll down his cold cheeks ... which didn't stay unnoticed by his daughter, unfortunetely.

"Daddy, why you cryin'?"

_And if you ask me too_

_Daddy's gonna buy you** a mockingbird**..._

_I'mma give you the world..._

Dom didn't answer. So Bonnie sat up and then kneeled, placing her small hands on his cheeks.

_I'mma buy a diamond ring for you_

_I'mma sing for you_

_I'll do anything for you to see you smile..._

"Daddy, _don't cry_..." she whispered, wiping the tears away and looking at him with sorrow and fear in her eyes.

And finally... with this small and seemingly simple gesture... Dom gave in. He let go. It was too much, _it all became too much._

The sobs took over his whole body and he leaned forward and rested his head on his daughter's shoulder, shaking and shivering and crying. For everything he's been through, for everything he'd done wrong, for his poor little girl, for the love of his life, the woman he loved more than anybody could ever imagine ...

Bonnie placed her hand on her dad's back and began to softly pat it, trying to comfort him, heal his pain.

Dom cried harder...

How was he supposed to move on?

What was he going to do now?

How was he supposed to tell Bonnie that Letty's... **gone**?

_No more worries... rest your head and go to sleep..._

He didn't know how much time had passed by but after few long minutes, he was laying down on the bed beside Bonnie and she was snuggled up to him.

_Maybe one day..._

"Good night, daddy."

_... we'll wake up..._

"Good night, baby."

_**Good night, Letty ...**_

_... and this will all just be __**a dream**__..._

-THE END.

**A/N: **The lyrics are from Eminem's song "Mockingbird" by which this story was inspired. Thanks to my Beta for helping me out with it! :) I hope you enjoyed it! Thank you for reading! J.


End file.
